The New Girl In School
by QueenLF
Summary: The story of Lizzie, a teenage girl and the latest student of YouTube High. She struggles with the stress of growing up as well as finding out what type of YouTuber she wants to be. But with friends like Felix, Ray, Phillip, Marzia, Toby and Shane, school should be a blast. But when she is tested by a different breed of harassers, Lizzie begins to question her dream and herself.
1. Chapter 1

I hear the roar of the car's engine as my mother drives home. "This is it," I think as I stare at the school in awe, wisps of my blonde hair blowing into my face. "This is what you've been waiting for. There's no backing out now." I slowly climb the steps to the front door, pushing it open with a creek. The main hall is deserted. "They all must still be in class," I think as I walk in the direction of the principal's office, my backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. "After all, I am pretty late."

The woman at the office looks up at me from her work. "Name?" she says in a monotone voice.  
>I try to display as much confidence as I can without sounding too proud. "Lizzie Matthews," that sounded okay.<br>I see a flash of recognition in the old woman's eyes. "Ah yes," she says. She points me in the direction of the principal's office and tells me not to scuff up the floor too much with my black Converses.

I swing the door open and see principal Eisner sitting at his desk. He looks up from his work and motions for me to sit down. I take a seat opposite him as the principal begins to talk about the school.  
>"Getting a scholarship to this school is one of the highest honours anyone with any hopes of making it in the business you pursue can achieve," he says proudly, "so I expect only the highest integrity and best behaviour. When you represent our school, you represent it with honour."<p>

I listen intently and nod whenever he asks me a question. I've been waiting to get into this school since I set up my channel. Although I'm still unsure why they let me in now, I haven't even made a single video.

Mr Eisner looks at me from across the table, and I realise that I haven't said a single word since setting foot in the school.  
>"Would you like me to find someone to help you around the school?" He asks.<br>"Yes please," I say, nodding my head. The principal lifts a microphone to his mouth.  
>"Phillip DeFranco, report to the principal's office immediately." I hear his voice in the office and booming through the sound system. While we wait he talks to me about my last school, how life is going to change, and what is expected of me as far as classes and behaviour goes, until another student bounds in the door. He is quite a stout boy, about fifteen. Average build, spiky black hair and small brown eyes. He's wearing sneakers and a vintage tee-shirt.<p>

"Alright sir," he says, smiling, not yet having taken notice of me, "it is thirteen and a half minutes into the school year. What have I done this time?" He seems to slightly revel in getting into trouble.  
>"DeFranco," Eisner says, motioning to me, "this is Lizzie Matthews." the boy looks at me and gives a small wave, as I wave in the same style and give a small smile back, remember trying to stay confident.<p>

"I'd like you to show her around, introduce her, and get her use to life around here." The boy looks at me and nods with a smile. I look to Mr Eisner, who motions for me to go with him. I rise from my seat and cross the room, Phillip holding out a hand for me to shake.  
>"Nice to meet you, Lindy. My name's Phil." I give a smile back.<p>

"Nice to meet you, too."

I walk out of the office with Phil, who asks to see my school schedule. I pass it over, and he glances at my class number, with a nod.

"You're in my class, Y.9B," he said. "It's just down this hall and to the left, follow me." I walk next to Phil down the hall, and to a door labelled 'Y.9B' with black tape letters. When he opens the door, the scene inside surprises me. There are barely any kids in the classroom, almost all of them with cameras. A group of boys and gorgeous girls film at the back of the room, sharing a smartphone between them and taking turns talking about their summer to it. Two boys stand in the middle of the room, singing as one of their friend's filming, and another boy stands in the corner, playing on a Nintendo DS. Two other boys spot me and Phil and dash towards us. One of them has brown hair, swept across from one side of his head to the other, with hazel eyes and a broad, cheesy smile. The other boy is slightly shorter than the other two, with brown eyes and spikes slightly more intense than Phil's, as well as glasses. They both give him a high-five each.

"Hey, PhillyD!" The shorter one cheers, "We didn't see you this morning."

"Yeah, we thought you'd been murdered!" the brown-haired boy says, sounding cheerful as he speaks.

"Yeah, sorry about that, guys," Phil chuckles. He motions to me. "I was asked to look after the new girl. Shane, Ray, I'd like to introduce you guys to Lizzie." Shane sighs.

"Dammit, we've got too many pretty faces in this school already without another one!" He says, mock anger in his voice. Ray holds out a hand for me to shake.

"Ray William Johnson," he says as I take it. But instead of shaking my hand, he lifts it to his lips and kisses it softly.

"Pleasure to meet you," he gives wink. I smile and pull my hand away slowly, feeling my cheeks heat up. I can't tell if these guys are hitting on me, or if that's just how they do things around here. Either way, we catch the teacher's attention. He's a balding man with a slight beard and glasses.

He also holds out a hand for me to shake. I take it hoping he doesn't do the same as Ray. That would just be weird.

"Nice to meet you, Lizzie," he says, smiling, "I'm mister Stevens. I'll be your homeroom and science teacher."

"But everyone just calls him Michael," Shane said. I give my new teacher a small smile.

"Nice to meet you too, 'Michael'." I've never called a teacher by their first name. Most schools would give a kid a detention for doing so.

Michael walks to the front of the class, and calls for everyone to be quiet.

"Now, I know some of the people in this class are off visiting their friends in other classrooms, but while most of you are here, I'd like to introduce you to our newest class member. Everyone, this is Lizzie." A joyful chorus of 'Hi Lizzie' erupts in the room, as Phil, Ray and Shane make it their duty to introduce me to everyone in the class. The two singers introduce themselves as Rhett and Link and continue with their video. If everyone has names as interesting as this, they won't be hard to remember. The boy with the DS shakes my hand and gives me an awkward smile.

"My name's Dan," he says with a British accent, "I'm just waiting for my friend Phil to get here."

The large group at the back seem slightly more... friendly than the others I've already met.

"You guys," Shane says, getting their attention, "this is Lizzie, the new kid." One of the girls in the group, who has wavy brown hair and brown eyes, envelopes me in a hug.

"It's so nice to meet you!" she squeals, "My name's Grace!"

"Give her some room to breathe," another girl says. She's wearing a plaid shirt over a vintage rock tee, and her hair is cut in a short bob that curls around her head. She holds out a hand for me to shake.

Hannah Hart, nice to meet you," she says, smiling. I give her a handshake before the rest of the group introduce themselves. A boy with bleached hair and glasses steps up next.

"Hi, I'm Tyler, it's great to meet you," he says cheerfully. He holds my one hand between both of his as we shake hands. I like this guy.

The next boy is quite tan, with brown hair and blue eyes. Even though it's late summer, he's wearing a jersey.

"Troye Sivan, nice to meet you, Lizzie," he says, giving a shy smile.

"Nice to meet you, too. That's a cool accent, where's it from?"

"Oh, I was born in South Africa and raised in Aussie," he says with a smile. He seems like a nice guy.

"So, where's everyone else?" I ask, looking around the near-empty classroom.

"They'll be in the other classrooms, probably catching up after summer," Hannah explains, lifting herself to sit on a desk.

Shane slings an arm over my shoulder and begins to explain to me. "It's sort of an unspoken tradition that on the first day back, everyone just spends it dicking around and catching up with their friends after summer, so there's a good chance you won't meet most of your class until tomorrow." I give a nod of understanding and decide to just spend the rest of the morning hanging out with the kids in the room. It's about half an hour later and, besides Phil starting on a fresh juice box, nothing changes, until a girl walks in. She has long blonde hair that reaches past her shoulders. She's greeted with a chorus throughout the room. "Jenna," they cry as she walks in. She puts on a creepy face and says "Hello, friends." I turn to Phil as she strolls to the group at the back of the room.

"Who is that?" I ask silently. Phil looks at me with a raised eyebrow, dumfounded.

"That's Jenna Marbles," he says, equally silent, "one of the most popular girls at school and on the school website." I look at him strangely.

"Wait, so, YouTube is the school website?" He gives a nod. Ray decides it's his turn to explain.

"So, when the school was founded, the website began as just a way for students to upload their video projects, because videos were the only way they accepted projects. But when they allowed anyone to upload content, things got bigger than they ever imagined, and when the staff realized that stars could be made out of it, the changed the school's curriculum to specialize in sketch comedy, speech and confidence classes, filming techniques, editing shortcuts and stuff like that. Only the best of the best get in. That reminds me, what type of videos do you do?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Um...I – haven't posted any videos yet." Shane gasps in shock and covers his mouth. Ray's jaw hits the floor and Phil squeezes his juice bow so hard that it spurts up, high enough to hit the ceiling and splash back down, causing a large puddle of fruit drink when it hits the floor.

"You're cleaning that up," Michael says, pointing at Phil. Phil gives a nervous nod and a smile, convincing Michael to turn back to his Physics book. The three then return to the topic of me not having any videos.

"How did you even GET into this school without any videos?!" Ray asks in shock. I give a confused shrug.

"I just set up my channel and then two days later a scholarship arrived in the mail," my sweet ignorance seems to have convinced them. Even I have no idea why I got in; all I know is that I would never pass up an opportunity like this.

"Y'know what, let's not argue, it's the first day, and we've all got some catching up to do." A look of surprise flashes on Shane's face.

"Oh shit, I haven't met up with Lisa yet!" He slides off of the desk he's sitting on and out the door, quickly waving goodbye to us remaining three. We give him a quick wave in return before he dashes down the hall towards the other classrooms. As the day progresses, quite a few more people come and go from the class. Rhett and Link leave, but their place is filled by Dan's friend Phil. The two of them begin swapping Pokémon tips. Dan looks to me and ushers me towards them. Unlike Dan, Phil has blue eyes, but they share the emo haircut. These guys seem nice; maybe I should hang out with them sometime. Beside him, two other boys enter the room. A ton of kids at this school have strange haircuts – one of these two has yet another emo cut, the other has a classic bowl.

"Yo, Smoshites," Ray calls to the two boys as they walk in. He puts a hand on my back.

"This is Lizzie. She's the new girl here," he tells them. The two approach us, the bowl haired one holding out a hand.

"Nice to meet you!" he says loudly, giving my hand a vigorous shake. His friend pulls him back by the shoulder.

"Dude, don't freak out the new kid," he says patronizingly. "Sorry about him. He's not used to talking to people, mainly because he has no friends." Bowl-hair pulls his shoulder from his friend.

"Sorry about HIM," he retorts, "he's not used to conducting himself around a lady, mainly because he's never had a girlfriend."

"You DonkWeed!"

"You're the DonkWeed!" A fight breaks out between the two. I can tell they're best friends.

"Guys, c'mon, simmer down!" Phil says, first softly, then yelling by the end of his sentence. The two pause, bowl hair with emo-hair in a headlock, and emo-hair digging his incisors into bowl-hair's wrist.

"Obviously neither of you know how to conduct yourselves in front of a lady!" At this, the two of them end their combat , dusting themselves off.

"Sorry about that," emo-hair says, looking at his shoes. "I'm Anthony, and this is Ian." I hold out a hand for both of them.

"Nice to meet you guys."

The rest of the morning is uneventful. I sit and talk with everyone in the class – Dan, Phil L, Phil D, Ray, Ian, Anthony, Grace, Hannah, Tyler and Troye, until the bell rings. They all inhale excitedly.

"Lunchtime!" they cheer.


	2. Chapter 2

I jog alongside Phil and Ray as every person in every class seems to pour out into the corridor.

"I don't get it," I say, "what's so important about lunch?" They gasp and look at me as if I have just broken the law.

"What so IMPORTANT about LUNCH?!" Ray repeats, shock ripe in his voice. I guess it's time for them to explain again.

"Lizzie, lunch is the coolest part of our day!" He tells me over the noise, "I guess you've never met our school chef. He is so awesome. In fact, he doesn't even call it lunch. He calls it Epic Mealtime."

I shake my head as I try to keep up with the crowds. Either these guys have been brainwashed, or this chef is the best in the world. I filter through the heavy doors and glance around the stadium-sized cafeteria. The one thing that catches my eye is a large balcony fixed to the back wall, with a giant flight of steps leading up to it. God knows what it's used for.

Phil rushes towards a boy further up in line, with dark curly hair and brown eyes.

"Toby!" He cries, doing one of those handshakes that turns into the hug.

"How've you been Phil, I haven't seen you all summer!" 'Toby' seems just as happy to see him.

"Oh summer was great, but now I've been asked to show the new kid around." Phil points to me, and ushers me forward. Ray, Ian and Anthony assure me that they'll save our spot.

"Toby, I'd like to introduce you to Lizzie," he says. Toby smiles at me, and gives my hand a shake.

"Nice to meet you," he yells over the cafeteria din, "My name's Toby, but a lot of people call me Tobuscus."

"Tobuscus," I repeat, still shaking his hand "nice." He nods and smiles, before asping and giving a wide grin.

"The other's will LOVE to meet you," he says. "You should come and sit with us."

"Sure," I say, slightly surprised at the sheer amount of hospitality in this school, "what table are you guys sitting at?" He points to a very loud and hectic table, filled with kids cracking jokes every chance they get and scaring the Hell out of each other when they could. I gave a nod and walked back to my place in line with the others. Anthony gives me a pat on the back.

"You're gonna love the gamers table," he comments.

"Gamers table?" I repeat, "Wait, so you're telling me that all of the subjects on YouTube are actually cliques?" Ian gives a nod, before elbowing Anthony.

"The two of us are skit comedians and gamers, so we'll be at your table today. And some kids can fit into tonnes of cliques. Like Toby, he's a gamer, animator, parody singer and comedian," Ian explains. I give a nod. The line slowly moves forward, until it's my turn to be served. I look up, and instead of seeing a lunch-lady, I see a man, far taller than I am, with chains around his neck and a hairnet over his impressive brown beard. I pull my lips together tightly. It's all I can do to keep myself from laughing.

He gives me a nod and then flips his spatula over on my tray, ushering me off. I am about to laugh, until I glance down at my lunch. The orange, plastic tray is completely covered in a giant slice of lasagne. I give it a prod with my plastic fork, pushing away a section of cheese to reveal a completely made hamburger. I stare at it, wide-eyed, before looking up to see Ian, Anthony and Toby beckoning me over to their table. I take the space between Toby and a sandy haired, blue eyed boy who speaks with a strange accent. He's telling a story to a lanky boy with black hair and brown eyes. Toby leans back, reaches behind me and taps the boy on the shoulder while he's telling the other boy some story about barrels or something.

"Hey, Felix," he says getting the boys attention. When he turns around, instead of seeing Toby, he sees me sitting next to him. A look of surprise dawns on him, but it only lasts for a millisecond. Toby continues,

"Felix, I'd like to introduce you to the new girl. This is Lizzie."

Felix gives a smile and a laugh.

"How's it goin' bro?" He holds out a fist. I bump mine into his, smiling.

"Good, thanks," I tell him.

"So, is this your first day here?" He asks. I can't tell where exactly his accent is from, but it makes me smile.

"Uh, yeah. I was just wondering, where's your accent from?" I ask. He smiles, like he gets the question a lot.

"I'm actually Swedish, but came here to go to this school school quite a few years ago, so my accent's kinda diluted," he explains. "You should meet my girlfriend," he laughs, "she came here a few years ago from Italy and I sometimes still can't understand what she's saying sometimes."

As if summoned, a girl bounds up to Felix, knocking him slightly as she wraps her arms around his shoulders. Felix takes it on the chin and kisses her on the cheek.

"Hey there, CutiePie," he says, the girl giggling. Cute is just the word I'd use to describe her. Long, light-brown hair that reaches down past her shoulders, dark brown eyes, a very bubbly personality and a smile that could melt hearts. I give Felix a smile which he returns, only for it to wiped off by a look of remembrance a few seconds later.

"Oh, and Marzia, this is Lizzie, she's new here." Marzia turns to me and smiles, holding out a hand for me to shake.

"It's nice to meet you Lizzie. You can call me CutiePieMarzia if you want, tonnes of people do. And it sort of fits with the theme of Felix's nickname." I give Felix a sideways glance at hearing about his 'nickname'. He quickly explains,

"Oh yeah. My name is PEEEEEEEWWWWDIEPIEEE!" I give a small giggle. How's that for a nickname? We then return to the topic of lunch.

"Don't you guys just love Chef Harley's hamburger lasagne?" Toby says. Felix nods, as well as the boy next to him, who introduces himself as Jordan. Toby looks at me, and I give a shrug.

"I haven't tried it yet," I admit. Ian and Anthony give me a look.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense," they say. I prod the food with my fork, a small chunk coming off. I lift it slowly to my mouth, the others watching me with wide eyes. Taking a deep breath, I shove the pile of calories in my mouth before I can think twice. It's amazing. It's hard to describe, but two flavours that I can pick out are cheese and beef. The others are still waiting for me to vocalise my thoughts.

"Delicious," is all that I say after finishing my mouthful. The entire table erupts in a cheer. I giggle, but I catch sight of a table crowded mainly with older kids. They look like they come from all walks of life, some of them with glasses and beanies, some of them with Bieber hair, some holding Bibles to their chests, some of them with ears and noses full of studs. I look at them sideways as they all glare at me, one girl with black hair and more piercings than I can count scowling at me. I turn away uneasily. What the Hell was that about?

My mind is taken off of it by another girl heading to the table. She looks at us all and holds a finger to her lips, a smile behind it. She creeps up behind Anthony and sets and hand on his shoulder. He gives a wry smile. When he turns around, the girl kisses him. She has brown eyes, tan skin and honey-coloured hair. Pretty.

"Hey babe," Anthony says once their kiss has ended. She gives him a smile and ruffles his hair before her gaze passes to me. She gives me a small smile.

"Anthony, are you going to introduce me?" she asks, looking back to him. He seems confused for a second, before remembering me.

"Oh yeah," he says, "Kalel, this is Lizzie, Lizzie, this is my girlfriend Kalel." She has a very interesting name, that's for sure. Kalel holds out a hand, reaching from behind Anthony.

"Nice to meet you," she says calmly, holding out a hand for me to shake. I take it as she gives me a soft smile. She and Anthony then continue to talk. As I eat, I can still feel the other kid's eyes on me. But I don't sense the boy standing right behind me.

As I lift a forkful of lasagne to my mouth, I see Ian and Anthony giggling from the other side of the table. I raise an eyebrow, realising that they're giggling at me. I look myself up and down, trying to find what they're laughing at, before slowly turning my head. As soon as I see the boy, he shouts "WHERE'S THE BLACKSMITH?!" right in my face. I get such a fright that I drop my fork and jump in my seat. The others nearly die laughing, except for the boy who scared me. He just stands there with a wide grin on his face. He has dark hair and olive skin. Black, slightly square glasses cover his dark brown eyes and a plain grey shirt covers his broad build.

"Sorry about Mark," Felix says, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, "He does that to all of the new kids." I give a giggle to show that these guys that I'm not averse to having fun poked at me. The focus quickly changes to shouting coming from the end table. He's shouting to Felix and Mark. I turn my head, but I can't see him behind the head of a tall boy sitting two people down.

"Oh hey Cry!" Felix shouts, standing up behind me, Mark also waving to the boy. I can see the other boy's hand shoot into the air, in it a porcelain mask with a very plain, straight face on it. The hand falls, and he walks towards the two, mask now on his face. He points at it, and I can see him smiling from the small portion of his face that the mask doesn't cover. It also doesn't cover his shaggy, dark brown hair.

"Look what I got over summer," he says, grinning ear-to-ear.

"It looks pretty cool," Mark compliments, enlarging Cry's grin.

"Yeah, my grandma sent it to me while I was sick."

Felix nods, his mouth full of bread. "Strep throat has never been so rewarding," he comments, just as the lights dim and everyone hushes. Toby leans over and talks to me as a spotlight focuses on the balcony.

"Get ready for the whole school to meet you," he tells me. I smile, even though I have no idea what he's talking about. Then, the music starts. It's blaring hip-hop music, and the cafeteria erupts in a cheer as chef Harley walks to the edge of the spotlight, a microphone in hand as he reaches the metal balcony.

"Welcome back hooligans!" he shouts, the crowds cheering even more.

"Did everyone enjoy their summer?!" He shouts. More cheers.

"And is everyone enjoying their hamburger lasagne?!" The crowd is the loudest possible.

"Alright, awesome! Okay, notices." He lifts up a small sheet of paper and glances over it.

"Could Lizzie Matthews please come forward?"

I feel two hands on my back, pushing me to stand up. Looking back as I walk forward, I can see Felix and Toby smiling. In the dim light I can just make out them giving me the thumbs up. I weave my way between the tables and to the staircase. As I begin to climb, Chef Harley meets me half way. He claps a hand on my back and stands next to me. He's so tall it's almost intimidating.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, please give a hand for our latest addition, Lizzie!" The crowd erupts in cheering and clapping as the light shines down on me. The cheering makes me smile, but I can hear something else. Booing. Booing and Jeering coming from the other end of the cafeteria. If I can remember correctly, it was the table near ours with all of the glaring kids. Chef Harley can hear it too.

"Hey, to whoever's booing," he calls out once the cheering has quieted, "I'd be willing to come down there and kick your asses."

"I'd like to see you try, dick!" A voice calls out, followed by whooping from those around it. The words anger me, but it's too dark for us to see who it is.

"Alright, thank you Lizzie," Chef Harley says, brushing off the words, "you can go back to your seat."

I nod and begin down the stairs. As I begin down I hear him yell out, "Lizzie Matthews, everyone!" The cheering starts again, without the booing. By the time I'm back to my table I'm as red as a beet. I'm glad it's too dark for anyone to notice. Chef Harley returns to the stage and continues with the notices. Apparently our class and another are going on a field trip in three weeks and ten dollars is needed by next Monday. Even as he talks, and lunch continues, I still can't get their jeers out of my head. They were so sharp and harsh, but the people shouting them didn't even know me.

During lunch I find out that Felix and Toby are in my class. 'Two more friends', I think to myself.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: While writing this, I realized my story had two Phillips D:!. So, to save you guys from confusion, Phi_LL_ is Phillip DeFranco, and Phi_L_ is AmazingPhil.**

**Thanks for reading :)**

* * *

><p>I sit in the classroom with all the other kids once lunch is over. We sit in a circle of desks moved together. To my left are Dan, Phil and Pewds, and to my right are Tyler, Hannah and Troye. Across from me are Toby, Shane and Phillip. I'm not sure where Ian and Anthony are, but I think they tagged along with Kalel to organise something called a gift-swap with one of her friends.<p>

Even as the others laugh and talk and smile, I still can't get the kids from the other table out of my head. Their laughs and jeers shouldn't have affected me so much, so why are they?

"Lizzie?"

I bet they don't even know my name, and yet they give themselves the right to treat me like I'm below them.

"Lizzie?!"

The repeated call of my name snaps me from my thoughts. Everyone in the group is looking to me for a response.

"Hmm?" I mumble, getting a smile in return from a few of them.

"I was just asking if you liked lunch," Toby says from across the circle. I smile a give a nod.

"Yeah lunch was good," I say, "It's just..." my voice trails off before I can finish the sentence.

"What is it?" Phill asks, concern clear in his voice. I give a smile to show I'm fine.

"Well... did you guys see those kids at lunch? The ones behind the gamers' table? It's just, I probably sound like a huge baby when I say this, but... a few of them were, giving me this look - did any of you see?"

"Well what did they look like?" Toby asks. His posture transitions from relaxed and composed to focused and concerned, now resting with his elbows on his legs. I try to think back, but I'd only done a quick scan and had only gotten a good look at one of them.

"Well, there was a girl, with shortish black hair, and a tonne of piercings." A unified groan rises from the circle. They clearly know this mystery bully.

"Congratulations Lizzie," Ray says, his voice ripe with sarcasm, "you just had your first run-in with the Queen of the trolls."

"Queen of the trolls...?" I trail off, clearly confused. As I think about this, something comes to Phil's mind, making him gasp and cover his mouth as if he had just told a secret his best friend had forced him to keep.

"Oh nooooo," he groans, visibly worried.

"You okay, Phil?" Dan asks his best friend, his brow tight with concern. Phil looks to his fellow YouTubers in shock.

"They're going to give her Hell," he cringes, letting his hands fall slowly from his face. One at a time, the dots all seem to connect - everyone reacting in different ways - for everyone but me.

"Give me Hell? I...I don't understand," I say, but all they do is look at me with complete and utter expressions of pity. Shane even goes as far as to get off his desk and cross the circle to me. He takes my hands in his as if my life depends on the next few words that fall out of his mouth.

"Lizzie, whatever you do, stay away from that girl, and anyone who hangs out with her." It's hard to tell, but I can see from the expression on his face that he isn't joking.

"Shane's right Lizzie," Pewds agrees, "they're all bad news, every one of them."

"Yeah but...who are they?" I ask, confused. Ray gets up from his desk and crosses the room to stand next to Shane. His eyes have the same manic urgency to them.

"That girl, her name's Kendra Baghurst, and she has a major reputation for hating everything and everyone in this school that is popular. She and her little army are called 'the Trolls', and they believe no one should be at this school if they don't find them 'worthy'. They've been busting all our balls since Day 1. And just a heads up, there's a good chance they'll target you."

My confusion lessens, but the space it leaves is filled with annoyance. Are these guys serious? Are they really telling me that there's a group at this school that destroy what they don't like? But then something else comes to mind.

"Why do you think they'll go after me?"

Hannah uses a slightly patronizing tone as she explains, "Lizzie, you know how you don't have a single video out? Those guys are gonna destroy you for that. Forget how nice and sweet you are and forget that you're talented, there's nothing these guys hate more than easy entries."

A dry lump of anger and worry fills my throat. Phill is the first one to speak up.

"Well, all we can do is not let that happen," he says. "Lizzie, we need to get you some good references, and fast."

"Yeah, but who from?" Ray asks. I was thinking the same thing. What even is a reference, and where do you get one from?

"Well, me for starters," Tyler says as he stands. He hasn't said much until now.

"Girl, don't even worry about them. I'll get you in a video, we can do some crazy-ass challenge, it'll be fine."

"Yeah," Phill says, "and Lizzie, my show's coming back in a few weeks. Feel free to be my co-host anytime."

"And you know what?" Toby chimes, "You and I can play some Minecraft co-op if you want next week." I feel my face beginning to flush. All of these guys going out of their way to help keep the new girl from being bullied. I'd like to see any other school try to match this amount of hospitality.

"Wow, guys," I begin, "I, I really don't know what to say," but as I can speak, I can see several expressions slacken as if my thanks are uninteresting. I turn my head over my shoulder and see a girl in cropped denim shorts and a grey tank top with an artsy sugar skull on the front. But her wardrobe isn't what strikes me first. What I first notice is her hair. Long and smooth, it's bright lavender and comes down around her face and to her shoulder blades, extenuating her large brown eyes.

"Hi," she says warmly, taking my hand, "you're the new girl. Lizzie, right?"

"Um, yeah," I reply, slightly taken aback by her sudden kindness. From the other's expressions, I'm not sure what to do.

"Well, it's _great _to finally meet you," she smiles, "but, um, could I talk you about something over there?" She jerks her thumb to an empty corner near the door. I'm confused, but I try not to show it.

"Sure," I say, trying to hide my suspicions. She flashes a dazzling smile.

"Great!" She cries. She leads me by the hand almost like a child to the corner, and then turns back to me with wide eyes.

"You know that girl you talked to at lunch today, Kalel?" She asks as if it's a matter of national security.

"Yeah?" I ask, drawing out the last vowel to show that I have no idea what's going on.

"Whatever you do, don't hang out with her," the girl says urgently, "unless of course you want a reputation as a liar as well." As well?

"See, a few years back, when Kalel was new here, she looked totally different, and she didn't even use her own name! She lied about her name, her real age, even her family members! She quit here when she realized that no one was showing interest in her projects, but came back like only two weeks later with a different hair colour and identity! The same thing happened a few weeks later, and now she's just living off Anthony's fame! Isn't that crazy?"

"Yeah," I agree, faking interest. But still, this is news to me. When I met Kalel, she seemed so genuine and sweet. I can't imagine her doing half of the stuff this girl is talking about.

"Well, I've gotta run. I'll catch you later, and don't forget what I said," she tells me as if I'm senile. I give a nod and she's out the door. I walk back to the desks, the other's faces showing clear disapproval for whoever I just had my conversation with.

"Who was that girl?" I ask them, still looking over my shoulder at the door as I slide on to the desk.

"Lizzie, you just met Karma Parkinson," Felix sighs, clearly unimpressed by the girl.

"Who names their kid Karma?" I ask in disbelief.

"The same person who names their kid Kalel," Toby says. "She got her name changed."

"Oh yeah," I say, remembering my conversation with her, "and she was talking about how Kalel was a liar." Phil gives a soft wave of his hand, as if the topic is a fly and he's swatting it away.

"Oh she's been doing that for years," he explains.

"And it's common knowledge the only reason she does it is because she wants to shag Kalel's boyfriend," Dan says. The revelation raises my eyebrows, but it doesn't surprise me completely. Anthony wouldn't be my first choice, but that doesn't mean I find him unattractive. And I can believe that someone would go as far as give his girlfriend a bad reputation in an attempt to break them up. From what I've seen already, some of the kids here are pretty messed up.

"I just can't believe she would make that type of stuff up," I frown.

"Actually she didn't," Phill says. I feel my eyebrows contort in confusion.

"So all that stuff she said about Kalel was true?" I ask. There's a collective nod.

"She did all that stuff, but it's only the weirdos like Karma who make a habit of remembering it." I nod understandingly, just as an energetic girl bounds through the door and races in to our group.

"Hey guyyyyyss!" She exclaims, running around the inside of the circle and gripping the hands of everyone she passes. I look at the girl, quite surprised. Black hair falls past her shoulders but lifts in small waves. Large, artificial rings circle her eyes, setting them off from her olive skin. Her shoulders are raised in clear excitement as she rushes into a hug with Phill. As she holds him around the shoulders, he visibly reddens, Shane rolling his eyes. Her attention turns from the boy in her arms to me, and within seconds I'm caught in a vice-like hug.

"YOU MUST BE LIZZIE!" she squeals, swaying me in her arms. "IT"S SO NICE TO MEET YOU!"

"Thanks," I say, an edge of awkwardness on my tone, as I hold her shoulders and gently pull her from me. "So what's your name?"

She gives a wide grin, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth shown in sheer joy. She holds her hands to the center of her chest, one folded over the other as she introduces herself.

"My name is Boxxy!" she smiles, a small giggle following. After this, she returns to her cuddling of Phill.

"Thank you SO MUCH PHILLY!" She squeals, snuggling her head under his chin. Phill's face once again becomes beet, and he raises his hands as if at gunpoint, most likely to show that his hands haven't wandered...

"My latest video wouldn't have gotten half as much attention as it has if it weren't for you," she says, lifting her face to his and ruffling his hair.

"Aw, well that's fine, Boxxy, really, don't even mention it," Phill says, stumbling over his words.

"Well," Boxxy says, lifting herself from Phill, "Um. I think that's about it. I love you guys," she smiles, addressing the entire class as she makes her way to the door. She hangs off of the knob and leans through the frame for her final farewell.

"BYEE!" she cries before shutting the door loudly, which seems a cue for Shane. As soon as the door shuts, his stiff and straight posture sinks to a slouch, and the wide grin painted on his face wipes off immediately.

"I can't believe you made THAT famous," Shane says, elbowing Phill in the ribs. "I mean seriously, just, how, man, HOW?!"

"I don't know!" Phill says, defensively covering his midsection as Shane jabs him. "I don't know what it is, maybe it's the eyes, maybe it's the crazy, I don't know, but I think that girl is awesome!" Shane huffs a frustrated sigh and turns away, almost as if he's jealous...

This theory is discounted by his next action. "You have a girlfriend!" he shouts and turns back to his friend.

"Yeah, I do. Does that mean I can't think other girls are cool? Of course not!"

"Guys!" The two look from each other to the owner of the voice. Tyler, who's been quiet for a long time, draws the group's attention at his sudden outburst.

"Do you really have to do this, today of all days? You've had this conversation a hundred times before, and you can have it another time." He then looks from the fighting friends to me. I guess since I'm new here he doesn't want me to be forgotten on my first day. Shane and Phill look embarrassed and draw away from each other.

"Sorry Lizzie," Shane mumbles, Phill nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, sorry." I shake my head and smile.

"It's fine guys, really." I say just as the bell rings.


	4. Chapter 4

The school day is coming to a close.

Michael stands at the front of the class, going through the 'end if day roll', to make sure everyone is still here. Miss it, I learn, and you'll be marked as ditching. By the time he's reached Anthony's last name, everyone is keenly watching the clock, counting down every second, until, finally, the bell is heard shrilling through the entire school, echoing through each hallway. The class explodes into yells, as the dormant volcano that is the school erupts into cheers at the end of the day. A deep, hearty voice cuts through the noise as if it's nothing.

"What's up everybody, it's Critical," it crackles through the speaker system, "and enjoy the rest of your day you future servants of society." Once he has stopped speaking, a snare drum beat and base starts, followed by sung lyrics;

_Guess who's back, _

_back again._

_Shady's back,_

_tell a friend._

This music only sparks a larger fire of cheers and roars as people begin spilling from their home rooms into the hall. I'm caught up in the current, bag slung on one shoulder, not bothering to fight the current, instead allowing the flow of people to carry me with them to the main door. The river disperses here, as everyone begins making their own way. Some hop on to bikes in waiting racks, some seniors pile into small cars, some kids hop on large school buses, red decorated with small red triangles here and there, instead of the usual bumblebee machines that roll down streets. The entire fleet looks like a collection of Christmas candies on wheels.

I stand on the steps for a moment, scanning the curb to try to find my mother's station wagon. A few stray elbows or shoulders catch on me as people make their way past, traditional apologies thrown over shoulders at me. One of these isn't accidental.

A sharp joint bashes into my side, sending me forward, the only thing saving me from landing flat on my face being my quick feet. I descend three steps and latch onto a handrail next to me with both hands. I exhale slightly before throwing my head over my shoulder. My stomach sinks into my toes. Kendra is staring me down, arms folded and a scowl on her face, a gaggle of students chortling behind her. Most of them I recognize from lunch - a young man in a suit with a copy of the Old Testament under his arm, the antagonistic hipster, several boys and girl with dyes black hair covering their faces, and a guy standing nearly next to her, tall and strong with chestnut hair and angry brown eyes. I don't say anything, just return Kendra's stare.

"So sorry," she titters sarcastically, tossing a few strands of black hair from her face. The door closes loudly. For a split second, I tear away from the eyes in front of me, and see Toby at the door, watching on with wide eyes. Almost as soon as his stare meet mine, he turns and sprints back through the door. Well he's a helpful friend.

"Hey," Kendra snaps, agitated, "You gonna accept my apology?" The push I can handle, being treated like this I'm not putting up with. I stand up straight, take one hand off the rail, and make my voice sound strong, proud.

"No."

The boy just behind Kendra looks as though he's about to rush me - a wild and ferocious look in his brown eyes - but she puts an arm in his way, looks back at him, and gives a slight smile.

"Not yet, Jack," she whispers to him. His expression softens, and he returns this with a soft "okay". It's not much, but I could recognize his steps back, his scowl returning to me, as does hers.

"What did you just say to me?" She asked, her voice tinged with amusement as well as warning. I repeat myself, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"No. I don't accept your apology." Kendra looks at me as if I've just told a joke and she hasn't quite gotten it yet. An eyebrow arched and a wide Cheshire cat smile, she turns back to her 'army' and laughs, one forefinger directed at my chest. They laugh as well, and she turns back to me, shoulders shaking with cackles of amusement.

"Wow! I've never seen such a brave luck-out," she says, her smiles disappearing by the end of her sentence, replaced by a fierce scowl. She continues down towards me, stopping on the step just above me. I can make out the shapes painted on every piercing on her lip, eyebrows and nose.

"You know, you should watch out," Kendra says, her tone warning, arms still across her chest, "that much confidence can be hazardous to your health."

"Miss Parkinson!"

Kendra's head whips over her shoulder at the use of her name. I follow her stare and see Michael as well as Toby, Phill, Shane and Ray descending the stairs towards us.

"I hope you're making our new student feel at home," Michael said strongly, glowering at her and the other trolls. Kendra's face grows into a large smirk, but I can see poorly hidden traces of resent in her eyes.

"Of course , Mr Stevens," Kendra shrills. She slings an arm roughly around my shoulder and pulls me towards her, as if we're the best of friends. "We're getting on like a house on fire. Aren't we, Lizzie?" She hisses the second sentence in my ear. I give a sudden, sharp nod.

"Yeah, of course," I blurt. My eyes move to the corner of my eyes and focus on Kendra. Hopefully I was convincing enough. She smirks and pulls her arm off my shoulder and pushes me away sharply.

"See?" she says to Michael. She glances down at her watch nonchalantly.

"Woah, look at the time. Well, even though you're such an _enthralling _conversationalist, Mr Stevens, I really need to get going." She smiles in a sickly way, before turning to me and grasping my free hand in both of hers.

"It was _great _to meet you, Lizzie," Kendra hisses. Next are the guys. I'm expecting her to give them Hell, but all she does is lower her head in the slight form of a nod. "Boys," she murmurs.

"Witch," Is Shane's sharp yet still conversational reply. Kendra smiles and laughs through her nose, before turning away from us, making her way down the stairs, her clan not far behind. As soon as they're all out of earshot, the five of them descend on me. Toby is first.

"Lizzie, you okay?" He asks, a hand resting on my arm. Give a nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answer, "but I think you guys got here just in time." Michael's stare lingers on the backs of the gang that stood before us only moments before, as they cut across the park on the opposite side of the street.

"Man I hate those kids," he mutters, still scowling.

"What did they say to you?" Phill asks in concern.

"She was trying to get me to accept her apology," I stumble out.

"Just stay away from them," Ray and Shane says in unison. I give out a small, amused breath.

"Believe me, I'm trying my best," I sigh, running a shaky hand back through my blonde hair. A few noises take place at the same time. The tooting of a horn, a car door slamming, and my own name called from a male voice

"Lizzie!"

I turn around and see my father, dressed in his work suit, leaning on his SUV, trying to catch his attention. I turn back to the guys, who I guess have connected the dots.

"That's my ride," I say, readjusting my bag on my shoulder. The boys smile and give small gestures. Michael does the same, but also says "Be ready for a normal school day tomorrow, Lizzie." I nod and smile, keeping my eyes on them until I reach my Dad. His hand falls onto my shoulder and I turn to see him smiling at me, before his view passes to the guys, still waving.

"Who're they?" He asked, a slight tone of curiosity in his voice. I know it wouldn't be there if Michael wasn't waving with them.

"Some new friends and my home room teacher," I tell him. He nods, pats me on the shoulder once again, before turning to the car. He motions for me to hop in as he climbs into the driver's seat. I walk around and stand at the door, peering around the car to see that the guys have dispersed. I can see Michael's back as he ascends the stairs to return to the school. I open the door and slide into the seat, nearly swallowed up by the soft leather upholstery.

"So how was school?" He asks, clipping the seat belt into place. My father is an aging man, partly thinning and growing slightly grey, with several lines decorating his face.

"Good," I sigh in reply, the day having tired me. "How was work?"

"Degrading as usual," he sighs, running a hand back over his hair as he starts the engine. "The accused plead Not Guilty, so now I have a trial that could go for weeks."

"Ouch," I hiss. Dad's job consists of trying to put guilty people in jail and giving closure to the people who have been affected by said by guilty person. Yep, my Dad's a lawyer, and one of the main reasons I wanted this. I don't know whether it's how prematurely the stress has aged him or how sullen he grows when he loses a case that he clearly should have won.

"So," he sighs, breaking a silence, "What do you want for dinner?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Moooooom, I home."

I shut the front door behind me as I step inside, a bag of KFC sides in one hand.

"Hey sweetie," she returns from the kitchen, "how was school?"

"Good," I return, walking down the hall and into the kitchen. The table is set for three, as usual. It's been a while since my Mom stopped habitually setting the table for four. The fourth place would usually be held by my older brother Alex, but he left about two months ago for college. It was nice to have a cease to the brain-pounding trap remixes he so loved, but now it's so quiet.

Mom lays out the food for each of us, a leg and another piece, as well as fries and coleslaw. We usually eat in silence, speaking only of especially interesting events we have been met with during the day. But tonight is different. I've started a new school. And my parents are bursting at the seams with questions: "How was it?" "Did you enjoy yourself?" "Do you think it was good idea?" "Have you made any friends?". This is just a fraction of questions I am met with. Luckily, I am able to produce a truthful answer to them all. I decide that if Kendra comes up in a question, I will give my parents an honest answer. But she doesn't, thankfully. If my parents thought there was even a chance of me being bullied, they would be on that school like moths to a flame.

The remainder of the night is spent with helping my mother wash the dishes, cheer with Dad as the Indians - the team of his home state Ohio - score a home run against the Yankees, clean my room, practice some guitar, have a shower, get changed into my pajamas, brush my teeth, and also check out some of the kids I met today on the school website. I cross the room to my desk, sitting on it a small laptop. Judging by his subscriber rates, Felix is the most popular kid in school, but I didn't guess it when I met him. A timid, smiley Swedish boy isn't the first person you'd expect, but it's a welcome change from the stereotypical doucebag jock. Ian and Anthony seemed to be the best friends anyone could find. Ray and Phill have a similar format for their channel except slightly different topics. Maybe that's why they're friends. Shane's vids are ridiculous, profanity-laden and absolutely hilarious. Finally, it's comes to Toby. He has three different channels, all for different topics - one for games, one for vlogs, and the last, which is simply called 'Tobuscus', has a large mixture of content, which mainly appears to be song and animation related. I decide to watch this one first.

I select one of his most popular videos, some kind of trailer parody for the last Harry Potter movie. I'm slightly taken-aback by what I hear - a soothing voice from such a hyperactive boy is a shock. I watch a few more videos, only to glance at the clock in the corner of the screen to see it's four minutes to eleven. With no more time to check out any of my new friends, I shut down my computer and hop into bed. It takes me a while to fall asleep, but once I'm asleep, I'm out like a light.

* * *

><p>The next morning I wake up at six thirty. Enough time to go for a run and have a shower. I throw on a singlet, a pair of sports shorts and my running shoes. Maybe if I go out at the right time, I'll miss the screaming fit that the kid two doors down has around this time. I've never met him or his parents, but it's obvious he has something wrong with him.<p>

I sneak down the stairs, careful not to wake my parents. I unlock the door, step out onto the porch and shut it softly behind me. The morning air is sharp against my skin. I take in a large breath which chills my lungs. My muscles are stiff, so I do some spot-jogging and stretches to warm them up. I begin my way past the neighbors, and almost as soon as I'm past the boundary, a yell splits the morning air. I coming screaming to a halt and look up to the window of the second story. I sigh. Looks like I haven't missed the screaming fit after all. But for whatever reason, I recognize the once stranger words that follow the scream. The voice also sounds familiar. I glance up, stretching on the bottoms of my feet, to see a fraction of sandy blond hair through the window.

Without hesitation, I find a small piece of gravel and, careful not to put too much force behind the small stone, throw it up at the glass panel. Whoever is behind it stirs, and moves to the window. He sees me and smiles. Felix pulls the pair of headphones on his head down to his neck and lifts the window open.

"Lizzie?" he says, smiling, almost in disbelief. My smile, laughing at the coincidence. So this is who screaming-fit-boy is. And it's been because of his videos. He said he played horror videos predominantly for his channel.

"In the flesh," I admit, still giggling. And to think, if I hadn't met him yesterday, he would still just be screaming-fit-boy.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. I remember that he doesn't realize we're neighbors.

"I live here," I call back, pointing back down the street. "Two doors down."

His jaw falls slightly.

"What are you doing up now?" He asks, leaning further out the window. He glances me up and down, and frowns in disbelief. "What are you exercising? Oh God, you're one of _those _people." He sneers sarcastically. I laugh and glance to the house next door, where an angry elderly face peers out one of the top story windows.

"I better keep going," I call, slightly quieter. He gives a nod and begins leaning back in the window.

"See in school later," He returns, stage whispering. His stare becomes over-dramatically intense, and lingers on me as he leans back in the window and returns to his computer. I continue on the run, a smile adorning my features. I am neighbors with the most popular boy in school.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Update time ^_^ Now to answer a few questions: wonderfulfun Even I'm not sure whether this will be Phan yet, I guess we'll all have to wait and see. Zany Dragon I just wanted to called Phillip DeFranco Phill because Phillip just seems a bit too formal.<br>Well that's about it, thank you guys for reading, and I'll see you next time :)**


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